Next Generation Heroes
by Rebel Shadowknight
Summary: This is the story of the generation after Jak. New and old enemies have begun to appear in a world that has only just recovered from the attack of the Dark Makers. Jakkiera. The Final Chapter is here! Now on to the sequel. DUE FOR REVISION
1. The Beginning

**Rebel: I began writing this story just after I finished Jak 2 and before I got Jak 3, so if some things are a little outdated in my story, please bear with me. Also, because I began this story before I played Jak 3, Tess is human and so is Daxter. In my story, it turns out that Tess has a degree in the study of eco. She was finally able to turn Daxter into a human. Another cool thing: Jak found Gol and Maia's citadel still intact. After removing all the unneeded hardware Gol and Maia put in, Jak was able to start a new city in the Precursor Citadel. R&R!

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_Next Generation Heroes_

1. The Beginning

Morning. As the emerald star died in the night, the sun blossomed on the horizon. Beams of light crept across the land, turning dark monoliths to mountains and seas of shadow to forests. Out of the darkness rose Haven city, New Sandover, the countryside, and the precursor citadel. It had been twenty years since the defeat of Baron Praxis and the destruction of the metalhead nest. Now the world was slowly rebuilding itself.

As dawn touched the land, everything came to life. Haven City began to bustle as people went to work and construction projects started to move. Max sat at the bar of the _Naughty Ottsel_. He was almost 16, and he was deciding who to invite for his birthday. There was only one person he could think of. His pen pal Grace.

"Max, you're up early." Max's mom said as she walked in. she was always awake in the morning because she had to make sure the bar had enough supplies. Max watched as his mom went through the inventory. He loved the fact that he didn't look like her at all, but you could tell they were related. He looked more like his dad. Speaking of whom…

"Good Morning, Sunshine." Daxter said as he caught Tess from behind.

"Good Morning, Dear." Tess replied with a kiss.

"Hey Orange Lightning, Break any hearts lately?" Daxter said, tousling Max's flaming orange hair.

"Not lately, Dad." Max replied. His dad always called him Orange Lightning. He liked that name. Max made one last note on the letter he was writing and placed it in a mailing tube. Max went outside, and pulling out his jet board, jumped out into the port waters. He reached the far docks as the air transport began to take off.

"Hey Tomm!" Max shouted up at the driver.

"What is it Max?" Tomm shouted over the roar of the engines.

"This one's going to the Citadel!" Max shouted back, and tossed the tube up. Tomm caught it and set it beside him.

"I'll take good care of it!" Tomm said and took off on his routes. The air transport used to just take people past the city walls. Now it took daily trips to each town, village, and city, dropping off people and mail.

Max waved Tomm off and jumped back on his jet board. "Now to hit the stadium."

Grace yawned as light filtered through her window. Running her fingers through her blonde hair and green highlights, Grace pulled some clothes out of her closet and put them on behind a screen.

"I've got to hurry or I'll be late." Grace told herself as she stepped out of her room and locked the door behind her. Grace took off down the halls of the palace, greeting some of the people going to work. She had to get to the blue eco tubes before they closed. They were open at night for cleaning, but closed during the day to send energy to different sectors of the citadel.

Grace jumped in as the door closed and fell down the tube, enjoying the rush of air and adrenaline. She braced herself as a wall of blue eco rose up through the tube. She hit it and slowed down as if sinking in water. Grace absorbed the eco and kept falling to the bottom of the shaft. Righting herself, Grace landed on the blue eco jump pad at the bottom, and used the eco she had absorbed to shoot herself up the shaft.

Coming out of the tube, Grace jumped onto the ramparts of the tower. That particular tube was used to vent extra eco harmlessly back into the environment. Grace pulled out the morph gun on her back, and equipped a peacemaker attachment to it. Pointing it up into the sky, Grace fired.

The shot flew into the air and burst in an explosion of electricity. People down below called out greetings up at the tower where they knew Grace was standing, cleaning her weapon. Farmers on the outskirts of the citadel began to wake up and go about their business.

An old yakow rancher chuckled to himself as he rocked back in his chair. "Who needs an alarm clock when we've got Grace?" He said to the yakow next to him. It snorted and went back to grazing.

"Gonna come down for breakfast now that you've greeted half the world and woken the entire city?" Grace's dad said as he came up the maintenance shaft. Grace was so proud of having Jak for a dad. He was a true hero who had saved the world numerous times. Not many people can say that about their parents.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Grace said.

After Grace had eaten, she went down to the racing tracks. "Hey, Mom. Where's Dad?"

"Jak's out on the lava track, testing my new zoomer heat shields." Keira said. "What do you need?"

"Tomm said his engine sounded funny so I was going to take a look at it, but I need some tools first." Grace said while watching some racers zip by. She waved as her dad passed. She got a grin in return. The same energy-charged smile she got when she raced, or boarded, or jumped down the eco shaft. A free-spirited and wild grin that made you giddy just looking at it.

"Better get moving if I want to catch Tomm." Grace said, shaking her head and pulling herself back down to earth. She grabbed a tool box and ran off.

Grace was waiting for Tomm when the transport landed. "How's it going, Grace?" Tomm called.

"Looking up." Grace said. "I thought you'd appreciate it if I had a look at the air ship's engine. Wouldn't want you crashing halfway home now would we?"

"I suppose not." Tomm chuckled.

Tomm came back an hour later after having unloaded passengers and dropped off the mail. "How's she looking?" Tomm asked as he marked flight passes for the ride back.

"The battery was dying is all. I replaced it with one of my mom's new models. It's more efficient so no worries. I also took the liberty of refueling her.

"You don't know how big a help you are Grace, and I hope you never lose that love for the people around you. Oh, I almost forgot. Your pal Max sent you something again. Here you go, Grace." Tomm said as he pulled a mailing tube out of the front of the transport.

"Thanks Tomm. I'll see you tomorrow!" Grace said and ran off the landing pad as the air transport took off for the second leg of its trip.

Grace sat in her room reading the letter from Max:

_Dear Grace,_

_As I told you a while ago, my birthday's coming up. I can't think of anything I want more than to be able to show you Haven City. That's why you'll find an air transport pass enclosed. Make sure to catch your flight tomorrow so you'll make it for the jet board competitions! I'll be waiting for you._

_-Max_

_P.S. Look for the building with the giant ottsel on top when you land. I'll wait for you there._

Grace smiled. She was finally going to meet her pen pal Max. This was going to be awesome!


	2. Welcome To Haven City

**Rebel: What did you think of chapter 1? Here's chapter 2. R&R!

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2. Welcome to Haven City

"Nothing exciting ever happens here. I should've visited Grace instead. She's going to hate it here." Max grumbled to himself as he sat on the boardwalk with his legs dangling over the water. He could hear the transport now. Too late to change his mind. Max got up to watch as the crowd filed off the ship. Soon the crowd dispersed, and Max saw only one person still standing there. He thought he saw the stranger take out a city map, check it, and put it away again.

'It might be Grace, but why does she need to check the map? Can't she see the huge ottsel on the roof?' Max thought to himself. The person he'd been watching disappeared behind a port tower. 'What's she doing?'

"Right where the map said it'd be." Grace said to herself as she jumped on a green and purple, one seat zoomer. "Now to find Max." Grace took a minute to memorize the zoomer's dashboard layout, and then hit the gas.

Max watched as the person he thought was Grace reappeared from behind the tower on a zoomer. The driver hit the throttle, and as the zoomer reached the edge of the docks, the driver hit the elevation thrusters, launching the vehicle into upper level traffic. As the zoomer neared the boardwalk, it dropped down again. Max was forced to dive out of the way as the zoomer just cleared the water and skidded to a halt inches away from the front door of the _Naughty Ottsel_.

"Sorry about that. I'm not used to this model." Max looked up at the person who'd spoken.

"Grace!" Max asked.

"Yup. Wow, so you're Max." Grace said, helping Max up. "You're cuter than I thought you'd be." She said, enjoying Max blush. "So what's the plan?"

"Uh, well I planned on showing you the city today, then I have a freestyle competition tomorrow, and my birthday's the day after that." Max said as he dusted off his pants.

"Full schedule, huh? We'd better get moving then!"

"Guess so." Max said. He and grace jumped into a two seat zoomer and were off.

First, Max showed Grace the farm paths, the bazaar, and the palace. They ate lunch on a bench outside in the racetrack plaza, and visited the Oracle's hut. Finally, they took a path through the slums to the south side of the city. That's when it all started.

"What was that?" Grace asked as the zoomer passed an alley. "Can we go back?"

"I suppose." said Max nervously. They parked and walked back. An old mission screen had activated. The Freedom League sign had replaced the usual blue hologram.

"Don't mess with it!" Max said as Grace reached out her hand.

"Why not?" Grace asked.

"This just doesn't seem right. These old mission points haven't been active in almost 20 years." Max said.

If this sort of thing doesn't happen often, then that's all the more reason to see what it is. What if it's important?" Grace replied.

"Fine, but be careful." Max said, glancing around. Grace nodded and turned back to the screen.

"Activate transmission." Grace stated. The screen jumped a little as the voice recording came on.

"Can anybody hear me? Lady Ashelin must be warned…attacked Misty Island…metalheads are…They have…new queen…They're heading…Haven City!" Grace and Max listened, mortified by the static-punctuated warning.

"We have to warn everyone!" Grace said suddenly.

"Are you crazy?" Max retorted. "Nobody's going to believe us if we say metalheads are attacking! It's probably just a prank anyways."

"You sure?" Grace asked, suddenly not so sure of herself.

"Positive. Don't worry." Max said with a smile.

"No, I suggest you worry." came a voice. Grace and Max turned to face a gang of bikers. "This is our turf. You have to pay to pass." said the biker in front.

The biker to the leader's right turned to him. "Come on, Nik. We have better things to do." he said.

"Sorry, Derek, but if we let them go, other people will find out, and soon the Nyfe Vipers won't get any respect. We've got to do this." replied Nik.

"Fine, but I'm not getting involved." Derek said, and with that he drove out of the alley, the other bikers parting respectfully for him.

As the group closed again, Nik turned back to his victims. "Now, are you going to pay us, or pay the price?" Nik sneered.

"Neither." Grace said, stepping in front of Max and taking up a fighting position.

Nik started laughing. "Do you really think you can take me?" he said.

"I know I can, and if I do, you guys have to let us go." Grace said, never taking her eyes off Nik.

He met her gaze and jumped off his Nyfe type zoomer. "Agreed."

Grace attacked. She began to strike out, forcing Nik to block. He caught one of Grace's fists and kicked her legs out from under her. She responded by kicking Nik in the stomach from her position on the ground. As he doubled over, Grace used the chance to get up behind Nik. When he swung at her, Grace grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him. Putting all her weight into it, Grace forced Nik to the ground.

"I win." Grace panted.

"Not yet." Nik sneered. "Nyfe Vipers, attack!" Nik's men began to advance.

"That's cheating!" Grace shouted indignantly.

"I'm a Nyfe Viper. I don't play by the rules." Grace stumbled off Nik, and he got up to join his gang.

Max stepped up. "Hey, Nik, before you crush us, are you in the tournament tomorrow?"

"Yeah. What of it?" Nik replied, holding up his hand to stop the still advancing men.

"If you beat us up now, you won't get the chance to board against me." Max said, knowing Nik's vanity.

"I do enjoy wiping out nuisances like you in front of a roaring crowd." Nik said to himself. "Fine. You can pass, but tomorrow I'm gonna clean the coliseum floor with your face." Nik and his flunkies took off.

The biker named Derek had been watching all of this from the boardwalk above. "I guess I'll be seeing you two tomorrow then." Derek said to no one in particular, and left.


	3. Freestyle Competition

**Rebel: Originally, I planned on the leader of the Nyfe Vipers being Erol, but then I played Jak 3 and found out he blew up so I made a new villain. Eruhl (Err-ool) is the son of Erol, created by Erol using his DNA, Dark Maker technology, and dark eco. He has dreams of conquest and a vengeance complex. Cool, huh? Keep that in mind because he comes into the story in this chapter. Enjoy! Also, it's easier to picture this chapter if you have recently played in the jet board stadium, so pull out your controllers!

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3. Freestyle Competition

The boarders walked out onto the course to the wild cheers of the crowd. Max turned back to wave at his parents and his friend Grace before facing forward again. Nik passed him and gave him a smile that promised pain and humiliation. Derek came by on Max's other side.

"Good luck." he said simply.

"Uh, yeah. You, too." Max replied. The boarders took their spots around the edge of the stadium. Torn, commander of the city defenses, appeared on a hover platform.

"Ok, hotshots, listen up. You aren't being given points like in normal competitions. We want to see everything you have, so the winner will be whoever stands out the most; whoever impresses our ten random judges the best. Other than that, normal rules apply: you fall off your board, then you're disqualified. Got it?"

The crowd began to cheer, and Torn fired the starting gun. Everyone on the course jumped on their jet boards. The amateur boarders hit the half-pipe, trying to show off with different combos. Max had other ideas. He knew what Nik was planning to do, and he knew just how to deal with it.

Max began to head for the upper level. Nik was instantly on his tail. "Come and get it, Nik." Max said under his breath. Max did a crouching jump and a spin onto the upper ledge. Nik followed with a double jump and flip.

"Show-off. But if it gets the judges looking over here, it doesn't matter." Max told himself. Max turned and began going up the super ramp. He knew Nik would follow. He also knew Nik didn't train here often. He didn't know the full layout of the jet board stadium. Max hit the edge of the ramp, Nik close behind. Max jumped, getting in two different 360 trick combos before hitting the ground. Nik landed a few seconds later.

"A little shaky there on that landing Nik!" Max shouted behind him. Nik came after Max as Max started up the second ramp. Nik got up next to Max, planning to take him out during the jump.

As they reached the edge, Nik jumped, realizing too late that there was a small platform at the end. Max waited until he reached the platform's edge and jumped, landing on the upper track. Nik, having jumped too soon, missed the track and fell to the ground below. He fell off his board, needless to say, and broke his leg.

'Who's cleaning the floor with whom now?' Max thought smugly. Then he saw Ni's main flunky, Bron, heading straight for him like a runaway bulldozer. Max heard the sound of metal on metal and ducked as Derek slid by on the track railing and jumped. He spun, hitting Bron in the face several times with the edge of his board. Bron fell like a sack of bricks onto his face.

"Why'd you help me?" Max asked Derek.

"Because I don't like cheating." Derek said with a little shrug.

"You're weird." Max chuckled. "Come on. We have a competition to finish. They began to board down the track. "Fork's coming up. Which one are you taking?" Max called to Derek.

"The left." He called back. Max took the left path, jumping off the track onto a series of horizontal rings. He jumped and slid along, doing a few combos along the way. He landed on the upper section of the ground track to the cheers of the crowd

'My turn.' Max thought. He took the right track, jumping onto a rail. There were three flaming rings overhead that were almost impossible to reach. Max crouched as he hit the rail, and jumped while doing a forward 360 flip. He barely made the first ring. Max crouched again as his board hit the rail. He jumped and did a trick move, grabbing his board with one hand and pulling his legs up out of the way of the fire. Max cleared the second ring. Max crouched for the last time as he hit the rail, and jumped. First Max did a forward 360, and as he cleared the third ring, Max went into a 180 turn-around, hitting the ramp backward. Counting to three (how long it took to reach the end of the rail), Max did a combination of the forward 360 and 180 turn-around without crouching, resulting in a diagonal spin. Max landed to the wild cheers of the crowd.

Torn appeared. "It's unanimous. Max is the winner of the freestyle competition." Impossible as it seems, the cheers of the crowd grew louder. Max looked over to see Grace jumping up and down while waving, a huge smile on her face.

"That was amazing, Max!" Grace said when she met up with him at the stadium entrance. "You just pulled off a move that was thought to be impossible! You didn't just win, you became famous!" Max smiled. He was famous now, wasn't he? This win meant a place in the stadium Hall of Fame.

"Come on, your mom's making yakow steaks for dinner." Grace said.

"Yeah, let's go." Max said. They headed for the plaza, but stopped when they heard voices in the nearby garage.

""Splendid job busting up your leg like that, Nik." came a gruff voice from behind the door. "You were supposed to lead the initial assault on the palace. Eruhl'll have our heads."

"What did he say?" Max whispered.

"I'm not sure. It sounded like 'Erol', but he died." Grace whispered back. Then the man with the deep voice spoke again.

"I suppose this isn't too bad. Derek!"

"Yes?" Derek replied.

"You will now lead the initial assault. Nik, you will ride shotgun with Bron in the armored hellcat. Bron's dumb, but he can drive fair enough. You will work the turret."

"But Boss!" Nik protested.

"Don't argue. You have your orders." the man said.

"Yes sir." the boys responded.

Later that night Grace and Max sat at the bar of the _Naughty Ottsel_, listening to Daxter tell the story of how the head of the ottsel on the roof had wound up on its pitchfork.

"What are we going to do?" Grace whispered as Daxter went off on one of his wild tales.

"What do you mean what are we going to do!" Max said.

Grace turned to look Max in the face. "We have to tell Torn about this plot."

"Please," Max replied. "Torn would never believe the word of two teenagers. It's about as believable as the warning that metalheads are advancing on the city."

"We have to tell him, whether he believes us or not." Grace countered.

"Fine, tomorrow we'll tell him, but I'm telling you, Torn won't listen."

"You never know unless you try." Grace stated with a smile. Max felt weird whenever grace smiled, but he couldn't understand why. He tried to figure it out when his dad cut off his train of thought.

"Bam! And that's how I vanquished Metal Kor, leader of the metalheads, with my bare hands." Daxter said to claps and sniggers because everyone knew how Metal Kor really died.

Max sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	4. Warnings

**Rebel: Hope you enjoyed chapter 3. Chapter 4 is more about talking, but you should still like it. R&R.

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4. Warnings

"Come on, Max!" Grace called from the palace steps.

"Torn won't believe us." Max said as he caught up.

"You still promised we'd tell him." Grace reminded Max as the guards let them in.

"I know." Max replied with a sigh. The two were led into the throne room where Torn and Ashelin were arguing heatedly about lurker guard recruits.

"Sir, two concerned citizens have urgent news." a guard interrupted.

"Fine." Torn said to the guard who left. "Just a minute, Ashelin." He walked over to Max and Grace who were still standing in the entryway. "What is it?" Torn asked, irritated.

Grace spoke up before Max could react. "The palace is in danger of being attacked!"

"How do you figure that?" Torn said skeptically.

"We overheard some Nyfe Vipers talking about an assault on the palace."

"Do you really expect me to believe that? The Nyfe Vipers are a bunch of miscreants, but they have no real leader. I highly doubt that they could get organized enough to put up a fight, let alone an attack on the palace." Torn said.

"They do have a leader though!" Grace said. "I didn't hear his name very well, but it sounded kind of like 'Erol'."

Ashelin came up behind Torn. "Are you sure it was Erol?"

"No, more like Ehrrool or something. That's not the point though. The Nyfe Vipers have a leader, and he's going to attack the palace."

"Hmm." was Ashelin gave in reply.

Torn turned to Ashelin. "You can't honestly believe them can you!"

"Think about it, Torn." Ashelin said. "Either we increase security and risk not being attacked, or we ignore this warning and risk being crushed by an invading force of unknown numbers."

"I'll go mobilize the troops." Torn said with an air of defeat. Ashelin turned to Grace and Max.

"Thank you. This really was important to know." Ashelin turned to leave.

"Wait!" Max said suddenly. Grace looked at him questioningly. "We have more information, Lady Ashelin." Ashelin turned back. "Two days ago we got a transmission. Metalheads attacked Misty Island. The message was bad, but I think they have a new queen, and they're headed this way."

"This is grave news, and it took a lot of bravery to speak up. I'll put patrols on duty to watch the city's perimeters. Thank you again." Max nodded and Ashelin left. Grace and Max were escorted out.

Grace and Max walked along the boardwalk later that day.

"I'm going inside. Are you coming?" Max asked as they came to the _Naughty Ottsel_'s door.

"Nah. I'm going to explore a little. Don't worry, though. I'll stay in the port." Grace replied. Max nodded and went in. Grace began walking around. When she reached the eastern port tower, Grace was stopped by Derek.

"You told Torn and Ashelin our plan, didn't you?" He said furiously.

"How…"

"I saw you and your friend go into the palace this morning, and now the patrols have increased and turrets have been activated."

Grace looked down in guilt, but then lifted her head to meet Derek's glare with defiance. "Yes, we told Commander torn and Lady Ashelin. Do I look like a traitorous Nyfe Viper to you?"

"This isn't your city. This isn't your fight. You don't understand why we're doing this." Derek retorted.

"No, you don't seem to understand. You're too blind in your loyalty to a bunch of gangsters who don't care in the least about you to see that what you're doing is wrong. A city needs a leader that cares about it. Your leader sounds like the kind of man that wants to rule merely for the power. The city will die if you go through with this." Grace finished.

Derek stared at her for a minute, and then shook his head, allowing his anger to return. "How would you know?"

"By learning from history. That rebellion against Praxis twenty years ago wasn't about nothing. He was a power-hungry man with a bunch of muscle heads working for him, but he never cared at all about the city or its people. Just like you leader." Grace paused, but carried on. "Please think about what I've said. Don't waste your life. Follow your own path."

"Listen," Derek said as his anger abated. "Life is full of choices, and I've made my decision. Besides, it doesn't matter what I do. The attack will commence. Eruhl will make sure of that. I suggest you stay inside tonight." With that Derek jumped on a zoomer and left.

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**Rebel: Usually I don't talk at the end of these things, but I wanted you guys to know that I'm going on a big band trip so I won't be able to post anything till next week. I would've waited till I finished the next chapter before posting this, but I decided to give it to you now since I won't be on for a while. You'll like chapter 5. Look for it next week!**


	5. Attack!

**Rebel: Here it is! The climax! I'm so excited. There will be two chapters afterwards, but as I said, this is the climax. Hope you like it! R&R.

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5. Attack!

Derek hesitated outside the door to the briefing room. "What does that girl know anyway? She obviously didn't grow up here. She didn't have to live on the streets. With Eruhl in power, no one else will have to live like I did." Derek steeled himself and went in. He took his seat at the conference table, next to Nik and Groh, the man who had found him in the slums. Groh was like a father. He was also a superior officer so the men called him Boss.

"Is everyone here now?" came a voice at the head of the table.

"Yes, Eruhl. I understand you have some last minute changes for us. Please, enlighten us." Groh said. Derek leaned in to listen.

Eruhl turned around in his seat so everyone could see him. The light of the lamps glinted malignantly off his left eye, the dark eco swirling hypnotically just below the surface. "I have decided, after observing the patrols, to take one of my best and loyal Nyfe Vipers with me. I would take you, Groh, but the men need you to keep them organized. I want Derek to accompany me."

"Really?" Derek said.

"Really, Derek. You've been with us since you were little. I know I can trust you to watch my back in these most vital hours." Eruhl turned to the rest seated at the table. Now listen up. Here's how it's going down."

The first attack had hit the palace several minutes ago. Troops of guards were stationed in and around the _Naughty Ottsel_ in case they were needed to stop riots in the southern part of the city. Grace, Max, and his family were grouped next to some men at the bar listening to an old army radio.

"The first blockade has been breached. Retreat to the second blockade. I repeat. Retreat to the second blockade."

"Another attack has come from the eastern wall. We need reinforcements. Support Battalion, advance from behind and cut off the attack." Several of the men got up and left to join their battalion.

"There's something wrong about this." Grace said softly to Max.

"I know, but what?"

"If the Nyfe Vipers were so set on this attack, then why don't they seem to be putting up much of a fight? They obviously have enough men to completely overrun the Palace defenses." Grace said.

"Oh, I see what you're saying. This is a diversion, but what can we do about it?" Max whispered back. "We're just kids."

"We can do everything because we're kids."

"What?" Max said, confused. "How does being underage help us?"

"No one will notice us slip in and warn Ashelin and Torn." Grace said as she got up. To Tess she said, "I'm going to go see what supplies are in the back. We may be needing them." Grace got up and went out the back door. Max followed, knowing exactly what Grace was planning by this point, and also knowing that there was no way to stop her. Grace began to climb into a two seat zoomer.

"No, they'll spot us in that. If we're going through with your crazy plan, we're doing it right." Max said as he pulled out a one seat zoomer.

"Blue and red. Nice." Grace said as she slipped on behind Max.

"Yeah. You may want this, too." Max said, handing a morph gun back to Grace. She accepted it, attaching a blaster mod.

"Let's do this." Grace said with a grin.

Grace and Max zipped down streets littered with hastily discarded items. They entered the battle zone, swerving to avoid random gunfire. The hellcat with Nik in it passed by, but luckily didn't notice them. A Nyfe came up behind them, intending to ram the zoomer, but Grace swung the blaster around and shot the Nyfe's engine, sending it plummeting to the ground.

As Grace and Max passed over a massive knot of struggling bodies, Max pointed to a group of guards on zoomers.

"They're retreating. We'll follow them, and no one will notice us sneak inside." Max said over his shoulder to Grace. As they came up behind the group of zoomers, Grace looked back on the tragic scene. She grimaced as unknown gunshots penetrated flesh and bone, as men fell to the ground unnoticed, as the once glorious crystal-clear fountains became tainted and slowly turned red. Grace turned back around in her seat, her face the cold mask of a battle worn soldier's. Grace remembered a phrase her father had once quoted from one of his war stories.

"Let's take care of business."

As the zoomers passed the second blockade and turned right, Max and Grace hit the elevation thrusters and got into the palace through a window. Max and Grace started down the main corridor when Max put out his hand to stop Grace. She stood still, listening, before turning to Max.

"What?" she asked and got her answer. A defense turret in the next room fired, the bullets missing Grace's nose by an inch. She pulled herself up against the wall with Max.

"We have to get past. Any ideas?" Max asked.

Grace pulled out her blaster. "Yeah, one." she said. She stepped out from the safety of the corner and fired a rapid succession of shots. Each hit its mark. The turret exploded in an impressive display of circuitry and shrapnel.

"Grace! Why did you do that! You're only helping the enemy by blowing up the palace defenses!" Max scolded as he came around the corner. Suddenly Max tripped on something and fell to his hands and knees. Max turned to see what he'd fallen over, and encountered the corpse of an FL guard. There were several others strewn across the room.

"Someone's already been through here, so what good are the defenses?" Grace said. She let Max sit there for a second, allowing the knowledge that a war had started to finally sink in as she herself wrestled with the truth. Then she helped Max up. "Come on. There's always the chance that they haven't reached the baroness. Let's move." Max nodded numbly.

They raced down the last corridors to the entrance of the throne room. "Ready?" Max asked. Grace nodded. They shoved the door open and ran in. They walked in on an almost terrifying scene.

Torn was unconscious, having been thrown against a pillar, and Ashelin was struggling for air as a strange man strangled her. He bore KG tattoos and his left eye wasn't quite right. It had no pupil, being completely black, but you seemed to know where it was looking.

Eruhl turned when he heard the door open. "Ah, we have guests." Eruhl said, dropping the half conscious Ashelin to the floor. "How may I help you?" He said in a mocking tone.

"You can start by getting the hell out of here." Grace turned, astonished, to face Max who'd spoken out. Keeping his steely gaze on Eruhl, Max pulled out his morph gun and equipped a peacemaker mod.

"Do you plan to shoot me? Go right ahead." Eruhl said, spreading his arms. Max gritted his teeth and fired. The blast struck Eruhl in the right arm, sending him tumbling to the ground. Max gave a little grin as he unarmed his gun.

"Bad move." Eruhl said as he struggled back to his feet. "Derek, cover them." Derek came up from behind Max and Grace with a scatter gun.

"I suggest you drop your weapons." Derek said coldly. Grace and Max let their guns fall to the ground.

"How did you survive a blast from the peacemaker?" Max asked.

Eruhl reached up and pulled away the rags that had once been his sleeve to reveal an arm constructed from Dark Maker tech. "Now, if you don't mind, I have unfinished business." Eruhl said, turning back to Ashelin's limp form.

Grace looked into Derek's eyes, knowing he wouldn't fire. Then she launched herself at Eruhl's back. He spun around, hitting Grace in the side and sending her flying into a wall.

Max started to help when Derek shoved him into a pillar and leveled the gun to his heart.

"What are you doing?" Max shouted indignantly.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"I mean, Grace is a good person who does everything in her power to help others and make the right decision. You're totally loyal to this Eruhl guy who's willing to kill simply to have power. Don't tell me a guy as smart and moral as you is going to support the self-righteous lunatic over Grace!" Derek stood there uneasily, not sure what to think. Then he turned his head slightly as he overheard Eruhl.

"Now tell me, little girl. Why are you trying to stop my glorious revolution? We're doing this so no one will have to suffer ever again." Eruhl purred as he advanced on Grace.

"Why am I trying to stop you?" Grace replied in mock disbelief. Then her tone became harsh. "I'm trying to stop you because there are people dying in the streets outside right now. Most of them have families and friends they're leaving behind. You aren't stopping suffering, you monster, you're causing it!" As Derek heard this, something inside him changed. Perhaps it was his faith and loyalty towards Eruhl dying, or maybe his conscience awakening. Whatever the reason, Derek pulled his gun away from Max's chest.

In the meantime, Eruhl was fighting to control his temper. "What gives you the right to call me a monster?" Eruhl hissed through his clenched teeth. Then he noticed Grace's tattoos. (Yes, Grace has tattoos. They appeared when she was blessed by Seem, Head Monk of the Precursor Temple now, at her birth.) Eruhl's eyes strayed across the Precursor mantra on Grace's right arm, and stopped over the symbol on her left shoulder. The seal of Mar. Eruhl became suddenly enraged as his father Erol's memories flooded his mind. Blades extended from Eruhl's right arm, and dark eco began to circulate swiftly through his veins. Eruhl pulled back his right arm, claws extending menacingly at the fingertips, and prepared to rip out Grace's heart. A shot rang out and Eruhl shuddered from the impact of the bullet against his dark arm.

"Who?" Eruhl asked threateningly as he spun around. Derek stepped forward, wisps of smoke still issuing from the blaster mod he had swiped off Grace's gun. As Eruhl stared, dumbstruck by this betrayal, Grace yanked open the panel of a power box that was set into the wall near her head. Grace ripped out one end of a large eco power line and began to absorb the energy. Channeling it, she fired the pent up energy at Eruhl.

He never knew what hit him. Eruhl was sent flying to the far end of the room by the blast, straight into a window which shattered from the impact. Eruhl was gone.

Max went to help Ashelin up while Derek checked on Torn. "What do we do now?" Max asked as the two began to stir.

Derek pulled out a communicator. "All Nyfe Vipers, alert! Eruhl has been hit! He's down! All Vipers retreat! All Vipers retr…" Derek cut off as he crushed the device in his hand. Ashelin watched, half-dazed.

"Does that mean you're on our side, now?" she asked.

"I suppose it does, Derek replied.

Torn sat up slowly and paused. "Do you hear that?" he asked. Everyone stood still.

"I don't hear anything." Max stated.

"Exactly." Torn said solemnly. "You can usually hear the hum of the city shields in here. They've been shut down." Grace, Max, and Derek exchanged glances.

"I suppose that was my fault. The eco line I grabbed must have been helping to power the shield." Grace said. "We can fix it though, right?"

"In a few hours, sure." Torn said. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. "But, we don't have a few hours." he added. They all looked at him. "Before that psycho Eruhl attacked, I was coming to warn Ashelin that Metal Heads are accumulating to the south west. They're preparing to attack."

* * *

**Rebel: I'm back! My school band won a bunch of trophies in Vancouver, so I'm happy. I also liked writing this. It was awesome! I fixed how I spell Metal Heads, too. I hope that makes all you perfectionists out there happy. I'm working on the next chapter now! Yay!**


	6. Escape

**Rebel: Hey, I just realized when I typed the fifth chapter that I never really described any of my OC's so I think I'll type their descriptions up and put it on my user site. I hope that makes everyone happy. I have pictures I drew, but I don't have an account of Fanart. I don't even have a scanner, so that wouldn't do a whole lot of good. Anyways, I plan to go through my story and put in lines to mark off sections so the parts aren't as confusing from now on. Sorry about past confusion. I'm also sorry about taking so long to post this. School and all that, so, yeah. Read and review!**

**Oh, and for all of you out there who give a care about this: Jak, Daxter, and all the _Jak and Daxter_ characters are not mine. They're Naughty Dog's. All my OC's are mine, though, and so is this plot because even if it resembles someone else's, it was all my idea. Yay!

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6. Escape

"What are we supposed to do now?" Max asked.

"Our Freedom League guards are seriously depleted and demoralized by the Viper rebellion. They're in no condition to fend off Metal Heads." Ashelin rationalized.

Torn followed her train of thought. "We have to evacuate."

Ashelin pulled out a communicator with several knobs and buttons. She played with them until she was satisfied, and then flipped the connection switch. "Tomm, are you there?" She said and released the transmit button.

A pause. "Yes, I'm here. What is it, Lady Ashelin?" Tomm asked, his voice tinny through the comm.

"We've got a code red over here. I need every spare transport, zoomer, and vehicle you've got."

Another pause. "Code red, Huh? I copy. Transports will arrive in five minutes tops. The zoomers and vehicles will take a little longer. Tomm, over and out."

Ashelin switched off the connection, and fiddled with some more controls. Then she flipped the connection back on. "Attention, Haven City." Ashelin began, her voice resonating in speakers located throughout the city. "This is an emergency evacuation. Prepare for departure in five minutes. This is not a drill. Freedom League guards: initiate code red lock down procedures." Ashelin put away the comm. link. "That ought to do it. Torn and I have to oversee evacuations. You kids better get going." They nodded and left.

As the three kids ran down the halls to the palace's main entrance, Max spoke to Derek.

"Hey, we never properly introduced ourselves. I'm Max, and this is Grace. You're Derek right? I overheard Nik call you that when we first met."

"Yeah, you're right." Derek answered as they hopped in the elevator. The lift began to descend.

* * *

As Ashelin started the evacuation warning, Eruhl dangled from the palace wall, suspended only by the claws on his right hand that he had hastily jammed into a crevasse. With his free hand, Eruhl reached into a pocket on his racing style clothes and pulled out a beacon. Switching it on, he shoved the beacon back in his pocket and waited. Soon Nik and Bron showed up in the Hellcat. 

"Eruhl! Quick, get in!" Nik shouted as he made room. Eruhl grabbed the side of the crevasse with his left hand and wrenched his dark arm free of the wall. Then he leapt onto the Hellcat.

"Derek said you were hit before his connection died. Are you okay?" Nik asked, looking his leader over.

"I'm fine. Just a little bruised." Eruhl said distractedly.

"Great! Then we can call off the retreat!" Nik said enthusiastically.

"No!" Eruhl snapped, causing Nik to jump. "Metal Heads are about to attack, and the city's defenses are down. There's no point in conquering a doomed city. Fall back."

Eruhl elapsed into silence as Bron took the Hellcat out of hover. As they began to move, Eruhl spoke up again. "Besides, there's something else I want now, something far greater than mere power." Nik looked at him questioningly. Eruhl sneered coldly, his canines glinting frighteningly in the pale moon light. "Revenge!"

* * *

Max, Derek, and Grace came out of the elevator onto a scene of confusion. People scrambled about, grabbing bags and children, FL guards filled the streets, locking down power stations and weapons caches, and traffic was so backed up that it didn't seem to be moving. 

"We need to grab some emergency supplies and get to an air transport fast." Grace said.

"I have some gear to grab myself, but…" Derek looked at the crowd uncertainly.

"I gotcha covered." Max said, pulling his board out of the sling on his back. "Meet us at the entrance between the southern sector and the port."

"Sure thing." Derek said and took off.

Max watched him go. "Over here, Max!" Grace called. He turned as she pulled up on a one seater.

"But the traffic!" Max started.

"We'll stay close to the ground. I won't hit anyone, I promise." She said as Max got on behind her. They took off, almost taking out an FL guard.

"Watch it!" Max shouted at Grace, but she didn't hear him. She was too busy avoiding trees and pedestrians.

They finally reached the _Naughty Ottsel_ after having utterly destroyed an abandoned fruit stand, and just missed several fleeing yakows. They ran inside and began shoving supplies in two spare backpacks.

"Do you think we'll need this?" Max asked, holding up a can.

"Not unless you like eating lard for breakfast." Grace said with a brief look at the label. Max made a face and put the can back. "Grab the salt though." Grace said as an afterthought. "We can use it to sterilize wounds."

Max stood up from behind the counter where he had been rummaging. "How do you know this stuff? For that matter, why are you so perfect? You're always making the right decision, and you always know what to do." Max said.

Grace heaved a little sigh. "My life isn't that perfect. I spend all my time in a fortress. Sure, my parents are okay with me doing things like this trip, but the grand council, the group that runs the northern territory, expect me to act like a descendant of Mar. I have to behave, I have to be smart, and I have to seem perfect. My principles, my beliefs, and my choices are all based on idealistic concepts from story books. The greatest adventure I've ever had was this visit. My lifestyle may seem perfect, but my life is hard, and made complicated with politics. It sucks." Grace fell silent as she stuck a first aid kit in her bag along with a map of the countryside.

Max understood. Sure, his life didn't require a great deal of etiquette, and it didn't involve much politics, but he was a teenager with all the embarrassing and confusing baggage that came with it. He understood feeling like his life was too boring, too difficult, too lonely. He stood in the silence, staring at the patterns he had scratched into the counter over the years. He looked up as Grace closed her bag and shrugged it on.

"Let's go." She said with an air of determination. Max nodded, adding a box of salt to his pack before closing it.

Grace and Max stepped out into the light, only to encounter a scorpion Metal Head. They had breached the city walls! Max had seen first and stepped back through the doorway. As the scorpion advanced, tail poised to strike, Max came back out with a long metal bar and slammed it down on the scorpion's head, crushing its skull through its head plate.

"Come on!" Max shouted as more Metal Heads appeared. They ran toward the south sector entrance. They halted as they spotted a large group of Metal Heads in the path. As the Metal Heads turned and noticed Grace and Max, Derek broke through the monstrous crowd of creatures, Vulcan barrel flaring. Every single Metal Head fell to the ground dead.

"All the air transports have already left, and the other vehicles can't reach us." Derek said as he came up and reloaded his morph gun.

"Why can't they reach us?" Max questioned.

"The Metal Heads have blocked off the main exits." Derek said darkly.

Max looked over to Grace, but one glance at her face told him she was out of ideas. Max was going to turn back to Derek when he noticed something. She wasn't just out of ideas, she was scared. Grace met his gaze and her eyes begged him to save her. She had exhausted her supply of heroism. She needed a hero right now. Max's hands tightened around the bar he still held.

"Derek, can you find us a three seat zoomer? I have a plan."

* * *

"Will this do?" Derek asked when they reached the zoomer hidden in the alley. 

"Yeah, perfect. Now listen up. I'm not sure you'll approve, but it's the only way. We're going to drive to the stadium. There's an entrance hidden there for arriving racers from other regions. We can get out through there." Max said, studying his friends' faces.

"Are you nuts!" Derek exploded. "We'd literally have to run a guillotine!" There are Metal Heads everywhere!"

"This will work. I need you to drive Derek. Get us to the stadium no matter what. I'll take out any Metal Heads that land on the zoomer." Max said, hefting his bar. "And, Grace, I need you to be gunner."

"Are you sure?" Grace asked.

"Positive." Max said. Grace looked into his eyes and seemed to take strength from his determination.

"Alright, but I need a gun. I just remembered that I left mine in the palace." Grace said as everyone climbed in the zoomer, Grace to the left, Max to the right.

Derek passed his morph gun back to Grace. "Use mine. It's not much use to me since I can't use it while driving, and the blaster mod on it belongs to you anyways." he said. Grace switched to her blaster.

Derek pulled up the zoomer's built-in map. "Okay, let's try and stick to low altitudes and water routes. Hold on tight." Derek said and hit the gas. They sped back down through the port. Entering the area, Grace fired a volley of shots, sending several wasp Metal Heads plummeting to the murky water below. The zoomer made a sharp turn and started around the city fountain. Metal Heads were climbing all over the walls of nearby buildings.

Grace fired as several Metal brutes jumped off the fountain at them. She hit every one, but didn't realize that a Metal Head consisting of spinning blades had landed on the back of the zoomer. Max turned around in his seat and shoved the end of his metal bar up between the two main blades which spun in opposing directions. The blades halted with a painful screech as they hit the bar. The blades' unexpected stop caused the Metal Head's body to spin in two opposite directions, ripping it in half. The corpse rolled off the back of the zoomer, leaving a trail of blood.

"Thanks." Grace said with a grateful smile before turning back to her post. The zoomer sped around the palace with little opposition and entered the Venice-like streets that led to the stadium. Derek dropped the zoomer down onto the river as he drove.

Grace shot at the Metal Heads attempting to leap aboard. As they zipped under a bridge, a Metal brute jumped on the back. Max tried to knock it off, but it only dug its claws deeper into the zoomer's armor, and snapped at Max. It got hold of his bar with its powerful jaws and bit down, breaking the pole like a pretzel stick.

"Derek, the tunnel is coming up, right?" Max shouted as the Metal Head eyed him hungrily.

"Yeah, why?" Derek replied, chancing a look back. "Oh."

"When we're underneath, hit the elevation and duck." Max said, tossing a wrench he'd found on the zoomer's floor back at the Metal Head. The brute caught it and snapped it in half.

Derek knew that hitting the elevation thrusters under the bridge would be suicide, but Max seemed to know what he was doing. As they passed under the tunnel-like bridge, Derek turned on the elevation thrusters and everyone ducked. The Metal Head was slammed full force into the ceiling, crushing every bone in its body, and miraculously protecting the zoomer from any damage. The zoomer dropped to its original height and drove off, leaving a gruesome smear on the underside of the bridge.

Derek sped into the stadium, narrowly avoiding a tree. "Where now?" he asked Max.

"The garage at the front of the stadium. It's been converted to an elevator that connects to an underground passage." Max said as he watched Grace shoot down a pursuing Metal wasp.

Derek drove up to the garage door. "How do we know there aren't any Metal Heads in there?" he asked.

"Because it requires a stadium entry pass." Max said, whipping one out of the key pouch on his jet board strap. "By the way, can I have my board back?" Max asked. Derek handed him his board. "Thanks." Max said, putting the board on his back with his free hand. Max jumped out of the zoomer, Grace covering him, and swiped the pass through the access lock.

"Now leaving Haven City." The automated voice said in recognition. Max jumped back in the zoomer as Derek parked it on the huge elevator platform. The elevator began to descend slowly, and Max, Grace, and Derek sat in silence, listening to the hidden cables hiss gently and the shaft lights drift by. Finally the elevator stopped and another door opened.

The tunnel ahead was illuminated with a steady orange glow. "Please visit Haven City again soon." The automated voice said as Derek drove the zoomer out of the elevator and the doors closed.

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**Rebel: So much to say, so little attention span. I hope you enjoyed this. There's one more chapter to sum up this story, but don't fret. I plan on making this the first part of a trilogy! Know that when I finish with this story, I probably won't post anything for a long time because I haven't worked out the plot for book two. I'll decide book two's title and tell you in the last chapter so you can look it up. Don't forget that I love reviews. They make me happy. (big happy smile)**


	7. The End, Psych!

**Rebel: Okay, this is the final chapter, but do not despair! I am typing up the sequel. It will be titled _Times of Change_. I'm already working on the first chapter! Yay! Hope you enjoy this chapter though. R&R!**

**Jak and pals are not mine. My little OC pals and this story are though.

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7. The End…Psych!

As Max, Grace, and Derek drove down the long tunnel, they talked and learned more about each other's past. Finally, they came to a check point and a door just behind it.

"That's the exit. It opens directly onto the wasteland and a pick-up point for desert caravans." Max got out and walked up to the checkpoint's access lock. He went to pull out his pass when Derek stopped him.

"Wait. We don't know if there's a sand storm raging right now. If there is, and you open that door, we'll be dead before you can put that pass back in your pocket." Derek said in a tone so mild, it couldn't have been more frightening. Max dropped his hand instantly.

Grace jumped out of the zoomer now. "Hey, Derek, do you still have your busted communicator?" she asked.

"It's in the front pouch of my bag." Derek said, wondering what Grace was up to.

Grace got out Derek's bag, and pulled out piece after piece of circuitry. Then she began to pull apart the zoomer's dashboard.

"Hey! Don't do that!" Max shouted.

"Yeah, we have to use that zoomer still!" Derek added.

"Chill, guys." Grace mumbled around a screw clenched between her teeth. "I just need the radio. I'm gonna try and change the frequency." Keira, Grace's mom, had once explained that larger zoomers had radios that would connect with the radios of other large zoomers. Grace remembered her mom saying something about spying by crossing frequencies with comm. links, transport radios, and even weather towers. As Grace thought about that conversation, she unconsciously began to piece together an amplitude and frequency splicer.

"Done." Grace said finally with a triumphant smile. Max walked over and began to tune the new radio.

"…And finally, the Wasteland. No storms are predicted for the next few days thanks to balanced sea breezes and cross-currents."

Derek came over. "Alight, so there's no storm, so where should we head now?"

Max thought about it. "Once Lady Ashelin is able to speak with Sig, the Wastelanders should help us clear out the Metal Heads. We only need to find some temporary shelter until then. When Haven City is cleared out, then we can go back home." Max leaned on the radio. The dial under his hand spun and he fell. Max got up cursing, but fell silent when he heard the radio channel he had accidentally tuned to.

"My queen, Haven Cccity isss ourss." A voice hissed with pleasure.

"Very good." responded a venomous female voice. "Now that Haven City has fallen, prepare to move out. Take every town and settlement you come across from now on. Leave no one alive. Very soon Spargus will crumble, and then the Precursor Citadel and its limitless supply of dark eco will be ours."

"And then no one will be able to oppossse uss!" the first voice gleefully hissed. "My queen, give uss a mere three daysss, and then we will attack!"

"So be it." The connection broke off.

"Those were Metal Heads, weren't they?" Max asked, already knowing the answer.

Derek nodded forebodingly.

"We must inform Spargus City." Grace said, staring at the ground.

"And the Precursor Citadel." Derek remembered. "What did they mean, anyway, the Precursor Citadel's limitless supply of dark eco?"

Grace looked up. "There are dark eco silos just to the north of the Citadel." Grace's face took on a look of horror. "If Metal Heads thrive on dark eco, just think what would happen if they had control of a limitless supply!"

Derek looked into the stony faces of his comrades. "So it's settled then I see. We'll warn everyone, and stop the Metal Heads no matter what it takes."

"You bet! This is our home. Let them just try and take it!" Max said, shaking his fist.

Derek smiled despite himself. "Then let's move."

Max opened the door and the zoomer drove out onto the desert sands. As the door closed, the sun rose over the horizon, extinguishing the light of the green star as the sky turned red and then orange.

Grace turned to Max on the other side of the zoomer. "Hey, Max." she called with a little grin.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Happy birthday."

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**Rebel: The drama! The drama! If you enjoyed this story, please look for my next book, _Times of Change_, which will be posted soon. Oh, and don't forget to review. I love reviews! Yay! (I also love to say 'yay'.) **


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